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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. bound — certain
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. bass — the fish
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. bass — low music
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. tear — to rip
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mine — for digging
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. bound — obliged
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. tear — from crying
  19. mate — a partner
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. bound — tied together
  23. mate — to breed
  24. mate — a friend

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com